* I'll have more on this tomorrow: "Republicans in the House and Senate have reached an agreement in principle on their sweeping tax package that will slash individual and corporate rates, White House and GOP sources said Wednesday."

* It's almost as if Republicans are trying to get Trump to fire Mueller: "Republicans in Congress redoubled their attacks on the integrity of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation Wednesday, in what analysts believe is a concerted political strategy designed to discredit any potential Mueller findings that could argue for the impeachment of the president."

* The latest failed con: "Here's a new way to fight back attempts to spread fake news: file a police report. That's what Senator Chuck Schumer's staff did on Tuesday in reporting to the Capitol Police the existence of a fraudulent document that described false allegations against the New York Democrat."

* The Federal Reserve "raised interest rates by one-quarter of a point on Wednesday, in a widely expected move that signifies the central bank's confidence that the economy is continuing to strengthen."

* Only two days remain: "Over 1 million people chose insurance through the federal health care exchange last week as open enrollment approaches its Dec. 15 deadline. But the total number is likely to fall short of last year, which featured both a longer enrollment period and a far more robust outreach campaign from the White House."

* Signing statement: "President Trump signed a $700 billion defense policy bill Tuesday, saying the United States military "has got to be perfecto." But less than three hours later, he pointed out the bill's imperfections in a signing statement. Among them: A variety of provisions lawmakers included to force a more aggressive U.S. policy toward Russia."

As dramatic as the results out of Alabama last night were, the immediate practical impact is limited. Republicans are wrapping up their work on tax breaks for the wealthy, and the GOP majority still intends to pass their unpopular bill before Sen.-elect Doug Jones (D) takes office.

As a procedural matter, the calendar appears to favor Republicans: by the time officials in Alabama certify Jones' victory, the GOP majority in Congress expects to be finished with the entire initiative.

The Washington Post, among others, reported this morning that Democratic leaders are arguing, with no small amount of desperation, to allow Jones to be seated before moving forward on the legislation.

Senior Republican aides said Wednesday morning that they did not expect Jones's election to slow down the tax push, citing a Christmas deadline for action that had been set months in advance.

Democrats are trying to upend that timeline, pointing to their party's decision to slow down controversial health-care legislation in 2010 — after a Republican, Scott Brown, won a special election to fill a Senate seat in liberal Massachusetts.

"It would be wrong for Senate Republicans to jam though this tax bill" without allowing Jones to vote, Schumer said. "That's exactly what Republicans argued when Scott Brown was elected in 2010.... What's good for the goose is good for the gander, and what's good for the gander is good for the goose."

For those who don't remember the details of what transpired in 2010, let's take a brief stroll down memory lane.

Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.

* As of now, Roy Moore still hasn't conceded Alabama's Senate special election, and the right-wing candidate apparently thinks he still might win by way of a recount. This probably won't work out well for him.

* Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D) is appointing Lt. Gov. Tina Smith (D) to replace Sen. Al Franken (D), and in a notable twist, Smith won't just be a placeholder -- she reportedly intends to run again next November. Whether Smith will face primary rivals is unclear.

* On a related note, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the vice chair of the DNC, has decided not to run for the Senate seat in Minnesota next year.

* The new national Quinnipiac poll, released yesterday, showed Donald Trump with an approval rating of 37%.

* As Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) gets ready to wrap up his tenure, state Attorney General Adam Laxalt (R) is eager to replace him. In an interview with the Nevada Independent's Jon Ralston, however, the incumbent governor seemed to have some concerns about his would-be GOP successor.

It was never entirely clear why Omarosa Manigault, a former reality-show personality, had a job in Donald Trump's White House. A Washington Post piece in March described her as "the highest-ranking African American in the West Wing," though everyone seemed to struggle to explain her position and responsibilities.

The same Postarticle quoted a Republican strategist saying Manigault had input on daily press briefings and that "she carries a lot of weight" with candidates seeking ambassadorships. Again, no one seemed able to explain why this dynamic existed.

Omarosa was one of his highest profile African-American, female supporters and one of the few black women in Trump's West Wing. Her title during her year in the White House was assistant to the president and communications director for the Office of Public Liaison.

Though the details haven't been confirmed by NBC News, the New York Times' Yamiche Alcindor said, “I just talked to sources who tell me Omarosa was let go yesterday and that she was escorted off of the White House grounds by security. They say she is now calling friends saying that she left voluntarily because her year anniversary was coming up.”

Whatever the backstory, this seems like a good time to update the list of prominent Trump World departures:

It was three years ago last week that the New York Times published a chart that was hard to forget. In the first half of the 20th century, Democratic control over governors' mansions, senators' seats, and state legislative bodies in the South was literally 100%. Then, as the Times' piece showed, after the civil-rights era transformed politics in the region, Democratic power in the South slipped.

By this point in 2014, the percentage of governors' mansions, senators' seats, and state legislative bodies held by Democrats in the South -- excluding Florida and Virginia -- was literally 0%.

This came to mind this morning reading the Washington Post's piece from Aaron Blake about Sen.-elect Doug Jones's (D) victory in Alabama yesterday -- which offered at least some evidence that his party has a "pulse in the Deep South."

To be clear: This is a stunning result -- no matter what preceded it. Before Tuesday, a Democrat had not won a Senate seat in Alabama in nearly three decades. The party is practically extinct in the Deep South and has been for a few years now, with its gains there gradually fading during the Obama presidency. Racial polarization has made the region practically impenetrable for the blue team, which basically holds majority-black congressional districts and nothing else.

I wouldn't say this ushers in a Democratic revival, by any means -- absent the allegations against Moore, Jones very likely would have lost -- but the fact that Democrats could even capitalize on the right opportunity in a tough region has to warm the hearts of party officials and supporters.

Sure, this was just one race, and it'd be foolish to suggest Jones' win is evidence of a region in the midst of a dramatic transformation. It's not. The South is easily the Republican Party's strongest part of the country, and that won't change anytime soon.

But it's also true that the big red wall in the South now features some blue cracks.

After any major election, especially one that garners national attention, those of us who work in media can expect to receive an enormous number of press releases. Party committees, advocacy groups, political action committees, candidates with national ambitions all weigh in with their own spin on the outcome.

Naturally, the volume of press statements after Alabama's Senate special election was high, though my personal favorite came by way of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

NRSC Chairman Cory Gardner made the following statement regarding the results of the Alabama special election:

"Tonight's results are clear -- the people of Alabama deemed Roy Moore unfit to serve in the U.S. Senate," said NRSC Chairman Cory Gardner. "I hope Senator-elect Doug Jones will do the right thing and truly represent Alabama by choosing to vote with the Senate Republican Majority."

Look, I'm not unsympathetic to the circumstances. The NRSC -- which, to its credit, withheld support from Roy Moore -- probably can't remain completely silent in response to a Senate race the whole country was watching.

But, c'mon. A progressive-minded Democrat just pulled off an improbable victory in one of the nation's reddest states. Jones should now ignore his own platform and vote with the opposing party?

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), who occasionally has colorful things to say about the Republican Party's direction, shared a notable thought this morning. "After Alabama disaster GOP must do right thing and DUMP Steve Bannon," King wrote. "His act is tired, inane and morally vacuous. If we are to Make America Great Again for all Americans, Bannon must go! And go NOW!!"

Republicans members of Congress and conservative media are united in blaming one person for their party's loss in the deep red state of Alabama Tuesday night: Steve Bannon.

In a scathing editorial published late Tuesday evening, the Wall Street Journal ignited the revolt, declaring that "Bannon is for losers."

"The Alabama result shows that Mr. Bannon cares less about conservative policy victories than he does personal king-making," the editorial board wrote. "He wants to depose Mitch McConnell as Majority Leader even if it costs Republicans Senate control. GOP voters, take note: Mr. Bannon is for losers."

The piece dovetailed nicely with a tweet last night from National Review's David French: "Consider for a moment the magnitude of Steve Bannon's genius. Not every man can make an [Alabama] senate race close. Steve Bannon can."

That was published an hour before the race was called for Doug Jones (D).

Bannon, Donald Trump's former chief strategist, wasn't literally on the ballot, but no national figure invested more energy in Roy Moore's candidacy. He headlined two rallies in Alabama this past week, and was poised to make another appearance on stage last night -- right up until the results came in.

Bannon said in October, "We are declaring war on the Republican establishment." In Alabama, he lost a major battle in that war, leaving many to question his competency as a field general.

In the early fall, ahead of Alabama's Republican primary in its Senate special election, Donald Trump went all out for appointed Sen. Luther Strange (R). The president endorsed him, tweeted about him, encouraged the public to watch his Fox News appearances, dispatched Vice President Mike Pence to campaign for him, recorded a robocall for him, and even headlined a rally for him in Alabama.

Trump left no doubt: Luther Strange was the White House's guy. It was therefore a little embarrassing for the president when Alabama Republicans ignored Trump's advice and backed Roy Moore. Trump gambled and lost.

Yes, Trump endorsed not one but two Republican candidates who ultimately lost their races.

It would've been easy for the president to avoid this second embarrassment. Indeed, once Moore confronted allegations of sexual misconduct, the White House initially distanced itself from the right-wing Alabama candidate.

But Trump couldn't help himself. The president embraced Moore's candidacy and was all set to take credit for his victory -- right up until Alabama elected a Democrat to the seat.

Campaigning for Strange in September, Trump told locals, "I'll be honest, I might have made a mistake." I'll be honest, too: he might have made the same mistake twice.

The circumstances probably sound familiar: there's a Senate special election in a reliably partisan state that always votes the same way. Before the race even begins, the conventional wisdom takes root: the contest is over before it starts.

The first-year president, who won that state with ease a year earlier, assumes his party's candidate will prevail and help advance his agenda on Capitol Hill. Polls, however, start hinting at a surprisingly competitive race. The president, just shy of 12 months in office, starts scrambling to support his candidate, urging the state's voters -- with whom he is fairly popular -- not to undermine his plans by backing the other party.

But the appeals fall short. In an upset that captures the nation's attention, and stuns political observers everywhere, the reliably partisan state that always votes the same way does the unexpected.

I'm referring, of course, to the Senate special election in Massachusetts in January 2010.

After Republican Scott Brown prevailed in one the nation's bluest states, then-Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) declared, "There's going to be a tendency on the part of [Democrats] to be in denial about all this, [but] if you lose Massachusetts and that's not a wake-up call, there's no hope of waking up."

Now look at that sentence again, but replace "Democrats" with "Republicans," and "Massachusetts" with "Alabama."

There's no shortage of angles to Sen.-elect Doug Jones' (D) upset victory over Roy Moore (R), but near the top of the list is the impact the election will have on the broader landscape -- because Alabama, to everyone's surprise, has jolted the political world.

Rachel Maddow points out that in addition to other factors like African-American turnout and women voters, the Doug Jones campaign itself was well run and a testament to burgeoning Democratic political power in the South. watch

Alabama State Representative Merika Coleman talks with Rachel Maddow about the enthusiasm she saw for Doug Jones on election day, the questionable voting conditions in African-American areas, and the lasting energy the Jones campaign is giving to Democrats. watch

Senator Cory Booker talks with Rachel Maddow about the effort by the Doug Jones campaign to motivate the African-American vote, and the cold reception he hopes Roy Moore will receive if he wins election to the Senate. watch

John Archibald, columnist for the Birmingham News, talks with Rachel Maddow about the contours of the Alabama special Senate election and whether Roy Moore even really wants to be a U.S. senator. watch

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Launched in 2008, “The Rachel Maddow Show” follows the machinations of policy making in America, from local political activism to international diplomacy. Rachel Maddow looks past the distractions of political theater and stunts and focuses on the legislative proposals and policies that shape American life - as well as the people making and influencing those policies and their ultimate outcome, intended or otherwise.